Kisses In The Dark
by gunman
Summary: AU story taken during the blackout of NERV. Based on the manga. ShinjixRei


_**KISSES IN THE DARK**_

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I do not own Eva or any of it's characters.

Author's Notes: This story takes place during the mange series, not the anime.

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Shinji thoroughly expected to be chewed out by Misato for his tardiness.

The plan had been to catch the Angel as it dropped hard onto Tokyo-3. With each Eva positioned at different locations around the city ready to intercept the falling Angel, the plan was insane, but had proven successful.

The only problem was Shinji.

He had been mentally distracted and as such had started later than Rei and Asuka.

Yet, he was the first one to make it to the Angel and catch it with his AT-Field. Rei in Unit 00 got their a few seconds later and helped him brace the Angel as Asuka in Unit 02 ran up and literally stabbed it with her Progressive Knife.

The Angel was dead, but Misato was furious.

Apparently Shinji's delayed start time had cut the Magi's estimations down by a full percentage of success.

Ritsuko thought that was odd since Shinji was the first one to get there.

Still, Misato was currently on her way to the Eva cages to give Shinji a chewing out.

After getting an unwanted hanger-on, in the form of Ryoji Kaji, Misato was on her way to the cages, when the power went off.

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"What do you mean they aren't here?" Asuka asked the blond doctor.

"Misato and Kaji were on their way to the Eva cages to meet you, but shortly after that, the power went out." Ritsuko Akagi explained once the pilots had arrived in the command center, due mostly to Rei's uncanny navigation of the maze-like corridors of NERV.

However, at hearing that Kaji and Misato were probably stuck in an elevator somewhere and alone, Asuka decided on the most logical course of action: go find them! With only a few lights, including candles and flashlights, available, the redhead made a decision.

"Shinji." she said.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"You're coming with me to find them." she stated.

"What? Why?" he asked, clearly confused.

"Because I said so."

She turned to Rei.

"And you too! You're useful in the dark" she said to the albino.

"No." the blue-haired girl calmly said.

"What?"

"This is not my concern." she said, turning away from her fellow pilots as Maya worked feverishly to restore power.

"Rei, please, will you help us?" Shinji softly pleaded as Asuka's fingers pinched his cheek.

But before Rei could reply, Asuka dragged him away by said cheek.

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The pair had been walking in the dark for a good five minutes, when Asuka decided to break the odd silence that had fallen over them.

"Hey, Shinji?" she asked.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Have you and the First ever kissed?"

**CLANG**! Went the boy as his head hit a metal pipe that along the wall.

"WHAT?" he gasped at the left-field-fired question.

"Have you and the First ever kissed?" Asuka asked again.

"Uh... well... no... but..." he stuttered as he rubbed his head.

"But you have talked, haven't you?" she asked.

Shinji was silent at that. _Rei and I don't really need words to communicate._

And it was true. He and Rei had a strange relationship, one not based on words, but what seemed like actual feelings and silent 'signals'.

"So do you wanna?" Asuka asked, jarring him out of his thoughts.

"Wanna what?" he asked.

"Kiss."

"Who? YOU?" he gasped.

"Do you see anyone else here offering?" she asked, turning around to face him.

"I... I don't think that's a good idea." Shinji exclaimed.

"Hmf!" she huffed. "Just like I expected. A coward even for a game."

"I'm not a coward!" he shot back in a sudden burst of strength.

"Oh, yeah, that's right, it's probably unrealistic that you'd get to first base before me!" she laughed.

"That's not it, Asuka." he complained.

"Then what's the problem? Most guys would be tripping over their own feet to get what I'm giving."

Shinji looked away, as if disappointed, or even somber. "I... I'd rather kiss someone who respected me. Who liked me. Who didn't insult or try to hurt me." he said the last part as he turned to her.

"Someone like... the First?" she asked, reaching for the most obvious individual.

"Well... yes." he replied.

"So, what are you saying? That I don't respect you?" she accused.

"If you did, you would have been nicer to me at some point since we met."

"Are you saying I can't be nice?"

"Only when it suits you."

**CLONK**!

Shinji's point was effectively proven as he went down a second after the flashlight had connected with his head.

Suddenly she balks. "Shinji? Shinji?! SHINJI! Oh my god, oh my god, I've... I've got to get.. some help!" Asuka cried as she tore down the hallway, leaving Shinji in the darkness.

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"Ikari-kun. Ikari-kun." a familiar voice called him back to consciousness.

"Ayanami?" Shinji gasped as he eyes blinked open.

Not that it mattered as he was still in the pitched blackness of the powerless NERV hallway.

"Ayanami?" he spoke to the darkness.

"I am here, Ikari-kun." the soft voice said as Shinji felt a pair of hands help him to sit up.

_Am I dreaming? _He wondered, a second before a surge of pain shot through his head. _No... I'm awake. Asuka... Asuka hit me... with the flashlight? _

"Are you alright?" Rei asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Ayanami." Shinji said as he tried to sit up. "Argh!"

"You do not sound fine."

"I think Asuka hit me in the head."

That got Rei's attention. Had the lights been on, Shinji might have seen the girl scowl. Or at least scowl as best as she could.

"Ayanami, what are you doing here?" he suddenly asked.

"You asked for my help." she replied.

"But... you didn't say you would." he said as he tried to stand up against the nearby wall.

"The Second pulled you away before I could consider your request." she answered.

"Oh. Thank you, Ayanami."

"For what?"

"For coming to find me."

"You are... welcome." she said with a bit of hesitance.

The pair were standing in the dark silently for a few seconds, as Shinji held his head.

"I'm not sure, but I think I'm bleeding." he said.

"Let me check." she said as she slowly placed her hands on his head, slowly searching for the spot on his head where the Second had struck him. "Let me know when I have found it."

"Alright." he said, his body tingling as he felt the girls hands roam over his head.

A few seconds later...

"There!"

Rei gently rubbed the sore spot on the front of Shinji's head, causing him to wince.

"There is a small bump, but there is no serious bleeding." she said.

"Oh. Really?"

She sniffed her fingers, licking them lightly.

_Ikari's blood. A small amount. It tastes... different than the LCL_. She thought.

"Yes, no serious injury." she said.

"Thanks Rei." he replied.

"We must return to the bridge." Rei said, taking her hand and trailing it down Shinji's body to find his hand.

"Oh! Okay." he said, slightly startled by the physical contact the girl gave him. Though it made sense to him, as they were still in the dark and didn't want to get separated from each other.

The pair were walking for nearly a minute, until Rei spoke up.

"Ikari-kun?" the girl asked.

"Yes, Ayanami?" he replied.

"Did you mean... what you said?"

"What I said? When?" he asked, obviously confused.

"Before the Second struck you."

"Before... you mean you saw us?"

"No. But I heard you. You said that you wished to kiss me, instead of the Second."

It was a good thing it was still dark so that Rei couldn't see his blushing. Though he was worried he'd blush so hard he'd start to glow.

However, he couldn't lie to Rei.

"Oh. Really?"

"Did you mean it?"

"...yes." he admitted.

"I see." she said, just seeming to let it go.

Several more tense seconds past.

"Ikari?" she spoke up again.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why do you want to kiss me?"

Shinji paused for a couple of seconds to arrange his thoughts.

"Because... I like you Ayanami."

"You do?"

"Yes. I..." he paused, mustering his courage. "I think you're a kind, beautiful person. Someone I can trust. Someone... I consider a friend."

_Ikari-kun think that I am kind? And beautiful? Someone that he trusts? He considers me... a friend?_ She thought as they continued to walk, a warm feeling building inside her. _I have never had a real friend before_. She mentally paused for a few seconds. Suddenly she smiled. _Yes. I would like that._

"Thank you." she said, pausing at that. Did she just thank him? She had never thanked anyone, not even The Commander. "Do you want to kiss me?"

He paused in step, his halt pulling on the girls arm causing her to stop.

"What?" he asked.

"I asked if you wanted to kiss me." she said, turning around to face him, though he couldn't see it.

"You... you'd let me?" he asked.

"Do you want to?" she asked.

"I... yes. I do."

Rei moved against him, causing the boy to heat up furiously when he realized where she was. He could feel her breasts rub up against his chest. Her hands touched the sides of his face, using it as a means to bring his mouth to her own. He felt a spark surge through him as her lips came into contact with his.

Shinji's first thought was, _her lips are so soft._

Rei's first thought was, _I have never felt so... exhilarated. _

Their soft, slow kissing grew more impassioned as Shinji wrapped his arms tightly around Rei's waist, her arms slowly wrapping around Shinji's neck. Their bodies pulled tightly against each other as their tongues became involved, invading each others mouths and brushing rather fiercely against the other.

_These sensations are unfamiliar. Yet it feels so wonderful. Shinji is very talented at this._ Rei thought, suddenly realizing she had just called him, mentally anyway, by his first name.

_This is incredible!_ Shinji thought as he gently caressed her back with his hands. _Much better than anything I could have ever imagined._

Shrouded in darkness, the pair's sense of sight was cut off completely. Their sense of smell wasn't an issue as they could smell nothing but each other, and the slight odor of the lingering LCL on their plugsuits. Their sense of hearing detected nothing but the sound of their own breathing. This only left their senses of taste and touch.

In the darkness taste and touch were amplified to a tremendous degree. They could feel nothing but each other. They could taste nothing but each other. However, because of this overcompensation of their two remaining senses the pair were thrown into a maelstrom of feelings that threatened to overload their young minds and bodies.

And then the lights came back on.

The pair were still kissing as the elevator they had unconsciously stopped in front of opened up to reveal Kaji and Misato lying on the floor of the elevator, wrapped in his others arms, but looking like they had just fallen from the ceiling of the elevator.

Shinji and Rei stopped kissing, but didn't turn to face Misato and Kaji. They didn't even notice the two adults as they stared into each others eyes.

"Rei-chan?" he asked softly, using her first name unconsciously.

"Yes, Shinji-kun?" she replied, calling him by his first name as well.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked.

She blushed. "I... I have never had a boyfriend." she whispered.

"I've never had a girlfriend. And I'd like it to be you." he said.

After several seconds of tense silence, Rei smiled. Shinji easily recognized it as the one she had given him after the Fifth Angel battle.

"Do you promise you will never leave me?"

"With all my heart." he said.

"Then... I will be your girlfriend." she said as she hugged him.

Before Misato and Kaji could put their two cents worth in...

"ALL PERSONNEL COME TO THE BRIDGE IMMEDIATELY! COMMANDER IKARI HAS BEEN MURDERED!" Ritsuko's voice boomed over the intercom.

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"What happened?" Misato asked as she, Kaji, Shinji and Rei emerged in the control room.

"Ask Asuka." Ritsuko said.

"What? Why?" Kaji asked.

"Apparently she attacked him." the faux-blond said.

"It Wasn't My Fault!" the redhead screamed.

"What happened?" Misato asked calmly.

"I was running back from the hallway where I left Shinji after hitting him with my flashlight..."

"You Hit Shinji With Your Flashlight???!!!" the stunned woman gasped.

Asuka ignored her and kept talking. "I get turned around in this maze you call NERV, and run into someone. I barely get a glimpse of the guy with my flashlight before he lashes out at me trying to grab me. Well I think I'm being attacked by this stalker/pervert/rapist or whoever shut off NERV's power, and just start lashing out at the guy. By the time the lights come back on I figure the guy's dead only to find out it's not just any guy, it's the commander!"

Everyone just looked at her for several stunned seconds.

However, Shinji and Rei were standing next to each other when she told them her story. They had their fingers intertwined tightly with each other.

To them, this was like the ultimate blessing.

Without the commander, Shinji and Rei were free to pursue their relationship.

Rei knew that the commander would not have approved of her relationship with Shinji as it would have compromised his scenario. Likewise, Shinji felt that his father would have tried to break them up, since the man cared nothing for him he couldn't see him giving his blessing on this.

But thanks to Asuka, that was no longer an issue.

"Shinji-kun?" Rei said softly.

"Yes, Rei-chan?" Shinji replied.

"Could we find some place dark and kiss again?"

Shinji looked around and noticed that everyone's attention was on Asuka.

"Follow me." he said softly as he lead his girlfriend out of the bridge.

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Author's Notes:

This whole scene was based on the manga, not the anime.

In the manga Asuka pulled Shinji away from the command center to look for Kaji and Misato, and ended up nearly kissing the boy after challenging him in much the same way she did in the anime. But in the anime they actually did kiss, in the manga they paused just as the power came back on.

When I read the manga, I thought it would be another good idea for a Shinji/Rei story. So I just reworked it, played up Asuka's aggression a little more, and boom! New story.

Hoped everyone liked this, and will give me good reviews.

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_**OMAKE!**_

The Elevator Scene...

"You know if you're hot you can take off the jacket." Kaji suggested.

Misato quickly zipped the sweltering jacket up. "Don't even think about trying to take advantage of this situation, Kaji!"

The pair were silent for a couple of minutes, the loss of power causing a break in the AC which was now causing them to sweat.

"This isn't what I was intending." Kaji said.

"Oh, like you didn't want this!" Misato grumbled.

"Well, to be trapped in an elevator with you is something I've been meaning to get around to."

"Pervert." she groused.

Another minute passed.

"So, are you really going to chew Shinji out over this whole mess?"

"He was late getting to the intercept point."

"No, he was late starting, but he got there first."

"He was spacing out, not paying attention to his job."

"He's a teenager, Misato. Maybe he had other things on his mind."

"That's no excuse!"

"Yes, it, is!"

"Why are you defending him?"

"Because you're not."

"We're fighting for the fate of mankind, Kaji! He has to take this seriously."

"You push him any harder and he's gonna break, Misato. He's a boy, a kid, and it's not fair to force the fate of mankind on his narrow shoulders."

"But He's The Only One Who Can!"

"And So Far He Hasn't Failed!"

The pair settled down, until Misato started turning a little blue.

"Uh, is something wrong, Misato?"

"I Really Need To Go To The Bathroom!" she blurted out.

Kaji started paling at this.

With some help, and prompting, Kaji was now hoisting Misato over his head in order to get her to the elevator hatch.

"Come on! I have to go!"

"Just please hold, please hold, please hold." Kaji whispered.

"And don't even think of looking up!"

"I'm not!"

Suddenly, the power came back on, causing the elevator to shake, and dropping the pair back onto the floor, sprawled on top of each other.

When the elevator doors opened, both Kaji and Misato, unconsciously wrapped in each other arms, froze as they saw Shinji and Rei, also wrapped in each others arms, engaged in a rather passionate liplock.

Needless to say the pair were stunned, especially when Shinji asked Rei to be his girlfriend, and the blue-haired girl accepted. And smiled!

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_**OMAKE 2**_

Asuka running through the dark corridors of NERV. Even though she had a flashlight, she obviously didn't know where the hell she was going. She was going full tilt through the darkened hallways as she came to a corner, and a darkened figure around said corner.

The was Gendo.

"What?" Gendo cried out.

"Who are you?" Asuka cried as she flashed the flashlight at the intruder.

However, because of the commander's dark and grim appearance, casting a flashlight beam on him in a darkened corridor made him look truly horrific.

The figure lunged at her, trying to grab the flashlight. Thought Asuka thought it was her he was trying to grab for.

"AAAAAHHHHH! PERVERT-MONSTER!!!" Asuka shouted and just stared swinging.

Because Gendo was blinded by the flashlight he couldn't block Asuka's first swing, nor her second, nor her numerous others, until he was effectively dead.

Suddenly, the darkness was pierced by the returning lights.

"PERVERT!" _WACK_! "HENTAI!" _WHAP_! "MOLESTER!" _BAM_! "CREEP!" _POW_! "JERK!"

Suddenly she stopped when she finally noticed who she was beating.

"Uh------oh!" Asuka paled as she looked down at the lumpy form of the formerly alive commander.


End file.
